The Golden Jaguars senior men’s football programme will resume international action next week as they are scheduled to compete in a tri-nation tournament in neighbouring Suriname which also features Barbados. This is according to a press release from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) yesterday.
“The one-off competition will be hosted by Suriname with Guyana’s match against the hosts opening proceedings on January 28 followed by a second game against Barbados on January 30. Suriname will then play Barbados on February 1 to compete the round robin,” the release stated.
The competition will be first fixtures for recently appointed head coach Jamaal Shabazz, who took over the reins from previous coach Marcio Maximo in 2021.
Shabazz during brief remarks said, “It’s a good opportunity for the locally-based players to play international football, especially coming off the end-of-year tournament.
“For January, the focus is more on the locally-based players and, in March, we will focus on viewing more of the international players, but we still invited about four of them.”
Renewing rivalry
Shabazz said he was looking forward to renewing rivalry with Barbados and Suriname.
“We have a history of battles with Suriname and Barbados, so we are looking forward to rekindling that rivalry. Training started on Sunday, so it’s going be a short and intense programme. Our main aim is to assess the players after such a long lay-off.”
Guyana’s previous meeting with Suriname ended 2-3 in favour of the latter during the third round of the Caribbean Cup Qualifiers in 2016.
Guyana also battled to a 2-2 draw with Barbados during the Concacaf Nations League qualifiers in 2018. However, the result was reversed to a 3-0 win for Guyana, after it was deemed that Barbados fielded ineligible players. The result was also pivotal in Guyana sealing their maiden appearance at the Gold Cup in 2019.
GFF President Wayne Forde said, “We are looking forward to this excellent opportunity to restart the men’s programme under Coach Shabazz with two enticing games against two regional rivals. It provides the perfect bridge for the Golden Jaguars during a quiet international period and will give Coach Shabazz a chance to really get to know some of the talent at his disposal.”
Busy international calender
“The January fixtures kick off a busy international calendar for Guyana in the first quarter of 2022, with the senior and U20 women’s team also in action in FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers and the Concacaf Women’s U20 Championship respectively in February and March,” the release added.
